California Alliance of
Massage & Bodywork Schools

About CAMBS

The California Alliance of Massage & Bodywork Schools (CAMBS) is a member organization of massage and bodywork schools with programs approved by the State of California via the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE), under the state Department of Consumer Affairs.

CAMBS is committed to advancing the public acceptance and use of massage and related practices of touch. CAMBS is dedicated to working with the Bureau of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education to foster quality in massage training and to working with local agencies to foster a cooperative attitude of regulation. In pursuing these goals, CAMBS is committed to keeping entry to massage practice suitable for adult learners with multiple responsibilities and to providing for issues of learning diversity.

CAMBS was organized in 1997, partly as a response to the shift of school governance from the independent Council on Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (CPPVE) to the current Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE) under the Department of Consumer affairs. The CPPVE had resulted from the school reform acts of Maxine Waters and Rebecca Morgan passed largely to curb vocational school abuses relating to financial aid. These acts had initially resulted in numerous problems for small schools, due to their high requirements for program completion and full-time job placement. Much work was done to secure exemptions for shorter programs not prone to abuses of financial aid and not resulting in high default rates on student loans.

The following are statements of our mission, shared beliefs, and goals drawn from our April 1998 newsletter:

Mission Statement:

The California Alliance of Massage and Bodywork Schools is dedicated to providing excellence in bodywork instruction for each student at member schools. Although individual massage and bodywork styles may vary, all schools in the alliance are committed to our students:

1. developing a set of practical skills that demonstrate by objective measures, each student's ability to perform massage/bodywork in a professional manner for the purpose of making a successful transition to the work force and society,

2. forming an intellectual and spiritual insight and appreciation for the power of massage/bodywork and an ethical framework for safeguarding the client while in the altered state produced by massage.

Shared Beliefs

  • We celebrate the multicultural diversity of our students and encourage a sense of commitment towards a global community.
  • We also hold that a commitment to lifelong learning is essential for successful living in a multifaceted and rapidly changing society, and strive to instill a similar commitment in our students.
  • All students can learn. Learning requires high expectations from teachers and administrators, and the active involvement of students.
  • Our programs must constantly be examined and refined to make them responsive to the needs of the student population we serve.
  • Student outcomes can be defined and measured in alternative ways. Standardized tests are but one way of measuring student accomplishment.
  • People are resources, not instruments. They should be challenged, encouraged and supported in making contributions to the group.
  • Growth and development does not occur without self-reflection and self-assessment. Encouraging staff, administration, and students to pursue self-reflection and self-assessment is vital to the growth of our industry in a way that contributes the most to the world community.
  • Collaboration with other massage/bodywork schools is essential to the success of each member school.

Goals

  • Improve our educational programs through development of teaching materials, programs, and education of instructors and administrators.
  • Protect and preserve the diversity of massage and bodywork styles and the individuality of member schools
  • Develop a means of actively interacting with legislators to guide the enactment of laws that will protect and further the art of massage/bodywork as a vocation
  • Develop group marketing plans to draw more students to choose massage/bodywork as a career.

 

© California Alliance of Massage & Bodywork Schools

Websmithing by Keith Eric Grant — The RamblemuseSM
Last modified — 14 August 2003